Stabilized water-launched rocket vehicle



Jan. 26, 1965 R. B. PlCKETT ETAL 3,166,977

STABILIZED WATER-LAUNCHED ROCKET VEHICLE Filed Dec. 30, 1960 STABILIZED F/R/NG Fig.1 Fig.2

13 A Fig.6

Fig. 5

IN VEN TORS PC5597 8. P/C/C'ETT BY JO N EMKPY flkA/M A TTGRNEY United States Patent 3,166,977 STABILIZED WATER-LAUNCHED ROCKET VEHICLE Robert Byron Pickett, Stanford, and John Emery Draim,

Oxnard, Calitl, assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy Filed Dec. 39, 1360, Ser. No. 79,939 2 Claims. (Cl. 89-1.7) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

The present invention relates to a stabilized waterlaunched missile and more particularly to a missile with a releasable stabilizer located below its center of gravity, the stabilizer being released upon the firing of the missile.

Heretofore large payloads have been launched into earth-centered orbits or deep-spaced missions from a land-based facility requiring extensive support equipment costing three to five times as much as the rocket vehicle itself. The present invention eliminates equipment such as fuel and oxidizer storage facilities, cryogenic systems, concrete launching pads, large steel gantries and armoured blockhouses by providing a missile which can be launched from water; The seas enable 70% of the earths surface to become a potential launch site since the missile can be towed or carried literally anywhere therein as described in a copending US. patent application, Serial No. 31,243, now US. Patent No. 3,074,321 filed by John Emery Draim and Charles E. Stalzer. Phenomenal safety is inherent in a water-launched missile since any explosion due to a malfunctioning of the missile will be absorbed by the surrounding water, thereby eliminating injuries to personnel and eliminating replacement and repairing of support equipment. According to the invention, the mass of water surrounding the sides of the missile will act as semi-rigid launch rails replacing all of the equipment heretofore required to launch a missile from land.

In a copending US. patent application, Serial No. 27,459, now US. Patent No. 3,077,143, filed by John Emery Draim and Charles E. Stalzer, there is described a missile which is floated like a spar buoy in a bodyof water and then launched therefrom. In that application the missile is given a positive metacentric height by adding a predetermined amount of buoyancy above the missiles center of gravity. Accordingly, the missile therein is floated in the water in an upright position with its nose end above its base end, the vertical stability (in contrast to waterline stability) depending upon the position of the buoyancy with respect tothe waterline. Accordingly, if a portion of the buoyancy is located above the waterline and has a large lateral distribution, the missile will have a good waterline stability, whereas, if the major portion of the buoyancy is located below the waterline, the missile will have a good vertical dipping stability. In contrast to the missile as described in the last mentioned application, the present invention is a missile with a stabilizer located below the center of gravity of the missile. While this combined apparatus floats at the surface of the water similarly to the missile described in the last mentioned application, it differs from the latter" in that it has a stabilizer with a positive metacentric height located below the missiles center of gravity. Accordingly, the present missile will normally be given good vertical stability since the combined apparatus will be buoyed up in the water by wave action only by the displacement of the missile. Regardless of whether or not the missile of the combined apparatus is floatable in the water the stabilizer portion imparts stability to the apparatus by increasing the metacentric 3,166,977 Patented Jan. 26, 1965 height in a positive direction, the stabilizer in and of itself having a positive met-acen-tn'c height. After the apparatus is placed in the water at a predetermined launch site the missile is fired, at which time the stabilizer is separated from the missile and the latter then commences its travel into space. The stabilizer then floats to the surface for recovery, in most instances.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus having a missile which can be launched from a body of water.

Another object is to provide an apparatus having a missile which has good vertical floating stability in a body of water having wave motion.

A further object is to provide a stabilizer for a missile which will increase the metacentric height of the combination of the missile and stabilizer in a positive direction over that of the missile alone.

Still another object is to provide a floatable apparatus including a missile which has a releasable stabilizer.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily apparent as the disclosure is made in the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as illustrated in the accompanying sheet of drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side view of the apparatus with a portion of the stabilizer cut away.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the apparatus with the missile being fired and separated from the stabilizer.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the missile commencing its journey into space.

FIG. 4 is a view taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a view taken along line V-V of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the separable connection between the missile and the stabilizer of the apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line VIIVII of FIG. 6.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference numerals designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views there is shown in FIG. 1 an apparatus 10 having a missile 12 and a stabilizer 14, the missile having a nose end 16 and a base end 18 and the stabilizer having an upper end 20 and a lower end 22. The stabilizer 14 is an elongate tube which has the upper end 20 sealed from water and the lower end 22 open to water. An upper portion of the stabilizer 14 is filled with a buoyant material 24 and a lower portion of the stabilizer is open space which will take on water. At the lower end 22 of the stabilizer is an annular flange 26 which acts as a dampener to dampen vertical movement of the apparatus in the water when there is wave'action.

The missile 12 and the stabilizer 14 are separably attached to each other by a membrane retainer 28 which is threaded into a rocket nozzle 30 of the missile and an annular flange 32 of the stabilizer. The membrane retainer 28 has a thin portion 34 which will fracture upon firing the missile, thus allowing the separation of the missile and stabilizer. Ports 36 are provided in the annular flange 32 to prevent any sideways explosion upon the firing of the missile.

According to the invention the stabilizer imparts stability to the missile by providing a positive metacentric height for the entire apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 1. Accordingly, the stabilizer 14 in and of itself has a positive metacentric height; that is, the upper end 20 would float above the lower end 22 if the stabilizer was placed in the water by itself. The specific gravity of the stabilizer portion 14, of course, is a design problem depending upon the specific gravity of themissile 12. In designing the stabilizer one must be mindful of the position in which the stabilizer will enter the water. If the stabilizer is placed in the water in a substantially upright position as shown in FIG. 1, there will be a certain amount of trapped air 38 between the buoyant material 24 and water 40. It can then be considered that the stabilizer itself has two portions, namely, a buoyant portion 42 and a Weighted portion 44. However, if the stabilizer was placed in the water in a sideways position so that the water 40 would fill completely the space below the buoyant material 24, then the buoyant portion 42 would end at the lowk end of the buoyant material 24, there being no trapped air 38. In either case the stabilizer is to be designed so that the weight of the weighted portion 44 and the relation of the weighted portion to the buoyant portion (or otherwise stated the positive metacentric height of the stabilizer itself) imparts a positive metacentric height to the total apparatus 10. Accordingly, if the missile has a specific gravity equal to or greater than one it will be necessary for the stabilizer to be designed to buoy up the over-all apparatus and at the same time impart a positive metacentric height thereto. If the missile has a specific gravity less than one so that it would float in water by itself, then the stabilizer could have a lesser buoyant portion 42. Conceivably, if the missile had a sufficient buoyancy in and of itself, the stabilizer could be designed without the buoyant portion 42 so that the entire stabilizer would merely act as the weighted portion 44.

In the operation of the device the apparatus 10 is placed in the water and will assume an upright position as shown in FIG. 1, the nose end 16 of the missile being stabilized above the base end 18. At a proper time the missile is fired whereupon rocket exhaust gases exhaust through the rocket nozzle 30 fracturing the membrane retainer 28 at the thin portion 34, thereby breaking the threaded connection between the rocket nozzle and the annular flange 32. This separates the stabilizer 14 from the missile 12 and the missile commences its travel into space as shown in FIG. 3.

It is now apparent that the present invention provides a new device for stabilizing a missile for awater launch by attaching a stabilizer having a positive metacentric height at the base end of the missile, thus imparting a positive metacentric height to the over-all apparatus.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. For instance the buoyancy at the upper end of the stabilizer could be accomplished by a watertight door located some distance below the upper end 20 so as to provide an air space for the buoyant portion 42. Another alternative would be to provide no buoyant material or compartmenting at all in the stabilizer but instead rely upon trapped air within the stabilizer when it is placed in water in an upright position as is shown in FIG. 1. In the latter instance, water 40 would seek a particular level within the stabilizer and would trap air at the upper end thereof, the trapped air acting as the buoyant portion 42. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

We claim:

1. An apparatus freely floating at the surface of a body of water comprising, an elongate missile having a nose end and a base end, an elongate tube having a closed top end and an open bottom end with the top end rigidly attached to the base end of the missile, said tube further having a dampening plate extending transverse the tube a suffic-ient distance from the entire periphery of the bottom end so as to resist movement of the apparatus within the water and aid vertical stability of the missile by substantially dampening dipping action of the apparatus in the water, said tube being filled with sufiicient buoyant material from said top end so as to provide said apparatus with a positive metacentric height when the tube is entirely filled with water so that upon placing the apparatus in the water in any position the apparatus will float with the missile oriented in a substantially upright position, no part of said apparatus extending above said nose end of the missile, the weight of the apparatus being such that the tube is located in an entirely submerged condition within the water and means for separating the tube from the missile upon firing the missile whereby prior to firing the positive metacentric height, the dampening plate and the length of the tube vertically stabilizes the missile well in the water and upon firing the tube is separated so that rocket exhaust gases from the missile are impinged directly into the water.

2. A floatable apparatus comprising: an elongate rocket powered missile having a nose end, a base end and a specific gravity greater than one with respect to a body of water, an elongate tube having a watertight upper end and an open bottom end, said upper end being rigidly attached directly to the missile entirely below said base end with the missile and tube longitudinally aligned with respect'to one another, a buoyant member mounted within a portion thereof above the tubes center of gravity of a sufiicient buoyancy to float the entire apparatus in the water with the missile positioned substantially upright in the water and means for separating the tube from the missile upon firing said missile, whereby the effect of any wave motion of said body of water on the stability of the apparatus prior to launch is minimized and upon launch the exhaust from the missile is impinged directly into the water.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,707,112 3/29 Browne 102-3 2,402,143 6/ 46 Arenstein 9--8 2,889,795 6/59 Parks l14-125 X 3,077,143 2/63 Draim et al. 89-1.7

FOREIGN PATENTS 1,110,465 10/55 France.

OTHER REFERENCES Aviation Week, vol. 73, No. 24, December 12, 1960, pp. 69, 73, 75, 79, Sea Launch Studied for Space Vehicles.

BENJAMIN A. BORCHELT, Primary Examiner.

SAMUEL BOYD, ARTHUR M. HORTON, Examiners. 

2. A FLOATABLE APPARATUS COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED ROCKET POWERED MISSILE HAVING A NOSE END, A BASE END AND A SPECIFIC GRAVITY GREATER THAN ONE WITH RESPECT TO A BODY OF WATER, AN ELONGATED TUBE HAVING A WATERLIGHT UPPER END AND AN OPEN BOTTOM END, SAID UPPER END BEING RIGIDLY ARTACHED DIRECTLY TO THE MISSILE ENTIRELY BELOW SAID BASE END WITH THE MISSILE AND TUBE LONGITUDINALLY ALIGNED WITH RESPECT TO ONE ANOTHER, A BUOYANT MEMBER MOUNTED WITHIN A PORTION THEREOF ABOVE THE TUBE''S CENTER OF GRAVITY OF A SUFFICIENT BUOYANCY TO FLOAT THE ENTIRE APPARATUS IN THE WATER WITH THE MISSILE POSITIONED SUBSTANTIALLY UPRIGHT IN THE WATER AND MEANS FOR SEPARATING THE TUBE FROM THE MISSILE UPON FIRING SAID MISSILE, WHEREBY THE EFFECT OF ANY WAVE MOTION OF SAID BODY OF WATER ON THE STABILITY OF THE APPARATUS PRIOR TO LAUNCH IS MINIMIZED AND UPON LAUNCH THE EXHAUST FROM THE MISSILE IS IMPINGED DIRECTLY INTO THE WATER. 